Rural primary school closures 'highly likely'

It is "highly likely" that more primary schools in rural Devon could close, according to a county council report.

The warning was made as the council agreed to fight the planned closure of a primary school in a coastal village due to falling pupil numbers.

People living in Branscombe on the south coast of Devon said losing the school closure would "take the heart out" of the village.

There are about 20 schools in the county with fewer than 30 students attending that may "need to consider their future", according to a council report which says "at least one other school has started a formal process to consider their future".

In the past five years, there have been three primary school closures in Devon in Chittlehampton, Kingswear and Shaugh Prior.

The cabinet of Devon County Council voted unanimously to write with objections to the closure to the Secretary of State for Education who will make a final decision.

Councillors claimed the Link Academy Trust, which runs the school, had not done enough to attract more pupils to the school which currently has six students.

The BBC has contacted Link, which runs 23 primary schools in Devon, but has not yet received a response.

A report prepared for Devon County Council said it was "highly likely that more schools will need to consider their future, in particular in the more rural and isolated areas of the county".

Jess Bennett, who has two children at the school, said: "This is not a failing school.

"My children are here and they're thriving, it just currently has a low cohort."

Bennett said there were new homes being built in the village and surrounding areas, which meant there would be increased demand in future years.

She said closing the school would lead to a "hollowing out" of the village and an "aging demographic".

"Ultimately, the village dies," she said.

Branscombe resident and former school pupil Ross Wilmington has gathered more than 1,000 signatures opposing the closure of the school.

He said: "It gave me the best possible start in life and that's what village schools do.

"It's the hollowing out of rural communities once again - the mainstays of this village have been the church, the village hall and the school; and the school is the bit that feeds people into the village."

Mike Pellatt, chairman of Branscombe Parish Council, said closing the school would "take away the heart of the village".

He said: "We know it can turn around because it has in the past."

Following the meeting at County Hall on Tuesday, the leader of Devon County Council, Liberal Democrat Julian Brazil, said the council wanted to do everything possible to try to save the school.

He said: "There hasn't been enough effort to try to keep that school open.

"There's no nursery school attached to Branscombe - there should be.

"There are lots of new houses coming along the line - where are those children going to go to school?

"If we want to keep Devon young, vibrant and dynamic, then we need to start providing schools, not just in the towns and the cities, but also in our local villages."

The BBC contacted the Department for Education but has not yet received a response.

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